Akashi City - 明石市

Daifuku-yu

Japanese Name: 大福湯Prefecture: HyogoCity: AkashiAddress: 〒673-0025 兵庫県明石市王子２丁目２０−２１Access: 10min from Sanyō Nishi-Shinmachi Station / 山陽西新町駅Category: SentoWebpage: https://hyogo1010.com/sento_list/akashi-daifukuyu/Price: Hyogo Prefecture Public Bathhouse Association price or cheaper (sauna, if available, may be extra)Holiday: FridayHours: 14:30-22:00
Review: Akashi is a fascinating sento city. Each of the sento here has its own retro feel. They all uniquely express their retro feel. Like most Akashi sento, Daifuku-yu is smaller than you would expect—a bath for the locals. The bathing area is simple, with three rectangular baths. The main one in the middle has a shallow and deep section. The latter section has three jets at the least useful places for getting it to hit your back without contorting your torso around the step on the inner edge. That said, the water was not too hot, making it very enjoyable on the warm summer afternoon of my visit. One side of the back wall has a treated bath with bubbles which was also nice. However, the key to this small sento is its shallow cold bath. Advertised to be 18°C which was perfect. Besides that, a dry sauna is squeezed into the changing room, but I didn't use it. Tattoos seem fine. The locals seem a bit rough, but nothing offensive or off-putting, so ignore the negative Google reviews. While there are better sento in Akashi, it's a welcome addition to the sento experience in the town when seen as a whole. Visit Date: July 2022

Ebisu-Yu

Japanese Name: 恵美寿湯Prefecture: HyogoCity: AkashiAddress: 兵庫県明石市貴崎４−６−１２Type: Sento (with Hot Spring)Price: Hyogo Prefecture Public Bathhouse Association price or cheaper (sauna, if available, may be extra)Holiday: MondayHours: 15:00-23:00
ReviewVery much like the water at Arima onsen, but without the price or all of the crowds Ebisu-yu's spring is a well known local secret. The mineral rich water feels like raw clay. Heated it feels thicker, the warm ambient well temperature bath is near body temperature and is great for cooling off in. The normal baths always feel nice and hot too. Doing a cycle of heating up and cooling down in the warm spring water bath is recommended would totally relax anybody. The design of the baths is fun and a little unique. The deep and shallow areas offer many sitting places. Outside the warm bath has a more Japanese design with a spout, while next to it is the heated spring water bath fed by a wide waterfall which has a brown 1970's feel to it. The outdoor area is more of an enclosed patio area with a glass roof then actually being outside. There are openings in the roof that are open or closed depending on the weather. That roof itself is a highlight. I love the colored glass tiles. It's not that big, nor do I think it's that special, but I really like it. It's got a Midwest grandparents house feel to it. Coming during the daylight hours makes this bath much more refreshing because of the colored roof. Once in the summer I came right at 3 right when they opened. There were a handful of customers. It was so nice and refreshing to go there then. Once on a Sunday, which is also free for children kindergarten age and under, It was packed. I really couldn't enjoy myself at all. This is a very small sento and it is very popular in the area and on those busy days it might be best to go somewhere else. Something must be said about the wonderful staff who always seem very nice and friendly. It's a little local secret type of place in a cute, eclectic little neighborhood of subsidized housing, factories, and private homes. I love the funky little station that services this sento. Hayashisaki-Matsuekaigan is one of the longest station names ever. If the name is hard to remember for you Hayashisaki-Matsuekaigan is the second stop after Akashi on a local train heading towards Himeji on the Sanyo line. Only local trains stop there.
Hot Spring DataWell Name: 湧昇の湯Type: Chloride spring - 塩化物泉pH: 6Type: Neutral - 中性Well Temperature: 27.8Type: Warm spring - 低温線Osmotic Pressure: High - 高張性

Higashi-yu

Japanese Name: 東湯Prefecture: HyogoCity: AkashiAddress: 〒673-0875 兵庫県明石市大蔵天神町１５−１８Access: Sanyō Hitomaru-mae Station - 5min walk / 山陽人丸前駅Category: SentoWebpage: http://hyougo1010.blog.jp/archives/16244318.htmlPrice: Hyogo Prefecture Public Bathhouse Association price or cheaper (sauna, if available, may be extra)Holiday: 1st and 3rd MondayHours: 14:00-23:30
Review: Quite small and packed with various baths hugging the middle wall. It reminded me very much of the now closed Takahane Onsen in Nada which I really enjoyed when I first moved to japan. This is one of the bath designs where the water is constantly flowing and recycled from the drain so, please don’t spit or ring out your towel into it. There’s a mellow steam sauna in the back and a two-person big outdoor bath that has a funny sign saying taking a peek at the women’s side is a crime. I guess there was a problem once. All my fellow bathers were quite unique when I went, great people watching. There was also a huge gang of elementary school boys who had a great time splashing around. Fun, friendly place. I love the neon outside.
Visit Date: February 2021

Meigetsu-yu

Japanese Name: 明月湯Prefecture: HyogoCity: AkashiAddress: 〒673-0896 兵庫県明石市日富美町１４−１７Access: 15 min walk from Sanyo or JR Akashi Station / JR・山陽明石駅Category: SentoWebpage: http://hyougo1010.blog.jp/archives/16244321.htmlPrice: Prefectural Public Bathhouse Association price or cheaper (sauna, if available, may be extra)Holiday: MondayHours: 13:30-21:30
Review:Dokodemo sento featured this one and I immediately knew why. There is amazing tile in this old school sento. Only two baths here but they feel great. If you enjoy tile and textures this is a sento for you. Make sure to get one of the clear files they have for sale too!Visit Date: October 2020

Sanko-yu

Japanese Name: 三光湯Prefecture: HyogoCity: AkashiAddress: 〒673-0898 兵庫県明石市樽屋町２２−６Access: 15 min walk from Sanyo or JR Akashi Station / JR・山陽明石駅Category: SentoWebpage: http://hyougo1010.blog.jp/archives/16244320.htmlPrice: Prefectural Public Bathhouse Association price or cheaper (sauna, if available, may be extra)Holiday: WednesdayHours: 14:00-20:30
Review:Featured in a retro sento book and you can tell why. An oval shaped main bath that has deep and shallow sections makes the centerpiece of this basic sento. Besides that there is only a steam sauna that can fit 2~3 people and a small jet bath. The most unique aspect of this sento is that 4 of the showers are in the rear of the bath. There are 3 in the front in the customary place by the entrance but they are quite squeezed together. I had a quick chat with the very friendly owner and one of the customers. It is a basic sento but if you are interested in sento culture and sento design, strongly I recommend it.Visit Date: October 2020

Tatsu no Yu

Japanese Name: 龍の湯Prefecture: HyogoCity: AkashiAddress: 兵庫県明石市大蔵海岸通１丁目２−２Type: Sento w/ natural hot springWebpage: http://www.tatsunoyu1268.com/Price: ¥650 (Holidays ¥730)Holiday: Third TuesdayHours: 9:00-26:00 (Weekends & Holidays: 7:00-26:00)
Update, January & May 2022: Return trip years later. Still heavily used. Coming back and seeing how the view of the bridge is blocked by the fencing, making it impossible to enjoy the view from the outdoor baths, I was a bit disappointed. Also, the lovely dark red spring water is limited to a single bath that is always packed, even in the middle of the day. That said, we came back again for the lovely (and free) lounge. Tables with power outlets, decent WiFi, lots of places to sit, and a ton of manga to read. While the bath area is small, the cost is well justified if you use the entire facility.
ReviewGreat water hosted in beat up facilities and used by the Japanese version of the trash from the Jersey Shore thanks to beaches that surround it. Tatsu no Yu is not the best anything. It's been used--heavily. Many people come here after a day of swimming to wash off before returning home. On a hot summer day, this place is packed in the evening with all the beach goers.It's packed for a good reason however, the water here is great. The view is one of Kansai's best: A very close unobstructed view of the Akashi Bridge.If you can go on a weekday evening on a non-beach day, I totally recommend enjoying the water and view from Tatsu no Yu. During the summer beach season, I would recommend staying away.
Hot Spring DataSpring Type: Chalybeate (iron oxide) spring - 含鉄泉Temperature Type: Warm spring - 低温泉pH: 6.8pH Type: Neutral - 中性Osmotic Pressure: High - 高張性

Closed Sakura-cho Onsen

Japanese Name: 桜町温泉Prefecture: HyogoCity: AkashiAddress: 兵庫県明石市相生町２丁目Type: Sento
Review*Closed* This is a small little bathhouse a few minutes from Akashi station. There's a tile mural along the back wall and a super old changing room that's worth checking out for sento fans. Great retro feel, but not much in terms of baths.

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